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Mortgage product fees fall and fee-free options grow

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  • 06/06/2022
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Mortgage product fees fall and fee-free options grow
Average mortgage product fees have fallen over the past year by around £18, and the number of fee-free options on the market have increased by 80 per cent during the same period.

 

According to Moneyfacts, average mortgage product fees have fallen over the past year from £1,075 in June last year to £1,057 currently. This is still above the average product fee in June 2020 of £1,018.

The report said that the highest average product fee over the past year was £1,090 in September last year, noting that this was the time when several lenders were offering sub-one per cent deals. This compares to the highest mortgage product fee recorded by Moneyfacts of £1,106 in 2012.

The report added that deals with no product fee have grown from 959 in June 2020, to 1,735 in June this year. This accounts for around 40 per cent of the deals in the fixed mortgage market.

Deals with free or refunded legal fees has increased from 1,816 in June last year to 2,203, which is 51 per cent of the market.

Offers with free or refunded valuation have gone up from 2,695 in same period last year to 3,105 in June this year, whilst deals with cashback has risen from 1,108 in June last year 1,350 in June this year.

The report continued that the gap between average rates for deals with fee and deals with no fee had contracted, going from 0.21 per cent a year ago to 0.03 per cent now.

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said that despite mortgage rates rising there was still an “abundance of options” for borrowers to save on upfront costs of mortgage deals.

She said: “Mortgage fees have fallen on average on fixed deals, and there are now more fee-free offers available. Weighing up a deal on its true cost is vital, particularly as the rate gap between average fixed rates with a product fee and those without has reduced.

Springall continued that due to changes in the mortgage landscape borrowers would be better off looking past the fixed initial rates, especially as interest rates continued to rise.

“Indeed, back in September 2021, there were various lenders offering sub-one per cent mortgage deals, but that same month the average mortgage fee was just £16 shy of the record high recorded in 2012. Low rate fixed mortgages can carry some of the highest fees, so they may not be the best choice for every borrower, so seeking independent advice to assess the overall deal is wise,” she explained.

Springall said that remortgage customers could make “substantial savings” by switching their mortgage and there were fee-free offers and deals that covered legal fees, valuations or offered cashback. She added that this could benefit first-time buyers especially.

“In the months ahead, it will be interesting to see how mortgage lenders will adapt their ranges to appeal to both new borrowers and their existing customers during the cost of living crisis,” she said.

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